See also Raw Story's articles below. MCM
McClatchy Washington Bureau Posted on Tue, Feb. 17, 2009 Obama seeks delay in deciding on Rove subpoena Marisa Taylor and Margaret Talev | McClatchy Newspapers last updated: February 16, 2009 06:50:48 PM http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/62290.html WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is asking for two more weeks to weigh in on whether former Bush White House officials must testify before Congress about the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. The request comes after an attorney for former Bush political adviser Karl Rove asked the White House to referee his clash with the House of Representatives over Bush's claim of executive privilege in the matter. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., has issued a subpoena requiring Rove to appear next Monday to testify about the firings and other allegations that the Bush White House let politics interfere with the operations of the Justice Department. Michael Hertz, the acting assistant attorney general, said in a court brief released Monday that negotiations were ongoing. "The inauguration of a new president has altered the dynamics of this case and created new opportunities for compromise rather than litigation," Hertz wrote in the brief dated Friday. "At the same time, there is now an additional interested party - the former president - whose views should be considered." Members of the committee have been seeking the testimony of Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers since the spring of 2007. Last July, a federal judge in Washington agreed with the House that Miers didn't have the right to ignore a subpoena from Congress. District Judge John D. Bates' 93-page ruling was considered a significant setback for the administration, which had asserted a broad executive-privilege claim that would have protected Miers from appearing. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit later delayed the effect of the ruling until after the November elections. Since then, Rove's attorney has indicated that his client would be willing to testify about his role in the prosecution and conviction of former Democratic Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on bribery charges. Democrats want Rove to testify about the matter because they suspect that he instigated the prosecution. However, Democrats also insist that Rove should be made to testify about the firings of the nine U.S. attorneys. Meanwhile, a special prosecutor is investigating what role White House officials had in the firings and whether their involvement constituted a crime. MORE FROM MCCLATCHY Rove was asked to fire U.S. attorney ACLU tests Obama with request for secret Bush-era memos Undoing Bush: Obama orders easier access to public records Obama restores some of the 'Freedom' to FOIA Is Obama following Bush's lead on official secrecy? McClatchy Newspapers 2009 Obama, not Bush, now seeking delay of Rove deposition John Byrne -- Tuesday February 17, 2009 <http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_not_Bush_now_seeking_delay_0217.html>http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_not_Bush_now_seeking_delay_0217.html Former Bush Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove has a new president urging Congress not to force him to testify next week. President Barack Obama. Increasingly, Obama's Justice Department standing by 'George Bush secrecy' Stephen C. Webster -- Monday February 16, 2009 <http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Increasingly_Obamas_Justice_Department_standing_by_0216.html>http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Increasingly_Obamas_Justice_Department_standing_by_0216.html In a Monday report, the Associated Press notes that President Obama's Department of Justice has already sided with "half a dozen" Bush administration claims of secrecy over spying and interrogations. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to newsfromunderground-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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